Alexis Kirkland: Create Your Own Adventure!

Prompt 1: As life goes on, we all have experiences that will live with us forever. It may be something great, something unfortunate, or maybe something bittersweet. Some people choose to have a symbol of those events tattooed onto their bodies as a constant reminder. Think of an important time, event, or person in your life. Would you ever make the decision to get a tattoo of that time, event, or person, in their honor? Why or why not? If so, what would it be? How much do you think something has to mean to a person in order for them to get a tattoo regarding it?

Prompt 2: As young adults, we are constantly influenced by the people around us. Some of those people may be the idols we choose in our lives. There are people who idolize athletes, celebrities, and even political figures. We choose these idols for their ideals, morals, personalities, and how their influence makes us better people. I remember last year, however, hearing someone say, "I don't understand how someone can love a celebrity that much; they don't even know you." What is your opinion on this? Do you agree or disagree with the quote above? If you have an idol, what makes you cherish them in the way that you do, even if they don't know who you are?

Prompt 3: Louis and Harry. These two boys have always had a certain spotlight around themselves since July 23, 2010, when they jumped into each others' arms after they found out they were going to be put into a band together- One Direction. Fate seemed to bring them together, through both attending the same Script concert years prior to One Direction's debut and bumping into each other in the X-Factor bathrooms before being put into the band. From the get-go, a group of fans within the 1D fandom, now called Larries, noticed a special bond between the two, calling it "Larry Stylinson." This bond grew into loving stares and leaning over to touch hands and through more strange coincidences, a suspicion grew that the two members of the band were dating. Unfortunately, it always seemed like the two were torn apart from each other, by their management group, and Larries decided that the 1D management has been keeping their relationship a secret, for it would "damage" their image and they would lose fans, thus losing revenue. This meant after around 2012, never being able to sit next to each other in interviews, rarely acknowledging each other onstage, and even more rarely speaking to each other on camera.
After their endless matching tattoos (an anchor and a rope, a lock and a key, birds and a birdcage, a rose and a dagger, a compass and a ship), song lyrics that match the aura of the two boys ("You're all I want, so much it's hurting," ; "They don't know about us," ; "I have loved you since we were 18,"), odd coincidences (Louis' famous "Always in my heart" tweet to Harry, Harry saying "don't knock it til you try it" when being asked about dating a man, Harry's leather journal with "Let us love" written across the cover), and what Larries assume are "beards," aka fake girlfriends (Caroline Flack, Taylor Swift, Eleanor Calder, and now the baby scandal between Louis and Briana Jungwirth, which is supposedly a publicity stunt to further disprove Larry Stylinson from being a real thing), one would think that the supposed relationship between the two boys would be on its last leg. Recently, however, Larry has been stronger than ever since 2012, even if it's just through watching each other while they sing loving lyrics of their songs ("All I can do is say that these arms are made for holding you,"; and again "I have loved you since we were 18"), interacting more, and the boys setting up little rainbow-colored bears surrounded by, more often than not, different icons of the gay community for each concert on the side of the stage. After hearing this brief summary (yes, that was actually brief) of Larry Stylinson "evidence," as believing fans put it, do you think that Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles are together? What makes you think this, if so? Do you think that these are all just coincidences, and Louis is going to become a dad and the two of them never had anything? What draws you to this conclusion, given the facts above? Do you think the group would lose fans or gain fans or both, if Louis and Harry were to come out as dating?


MY RESPONSE: PROMPT 2

I'm sure we all have had someone who is an above-average person that we've looked up to at some point. Maybe it was a comic illustrator, an author, a performer, a scientist. Even in a world where we are taught to build our own lives and legacies, sometimes we just need someone to use as an example for who we know we want to be. And that's okay.
Maybe those idols aren't for specific careers. Maybe we have people that we idolize because of who they are and what they represent. Take a guess at what one of my idols would be. No surprise that it's Harry Styles. He's the kind of person who looks everyone in the eye when he talks to them, he responds genuinely and wholeheartedly, he's an advocate for social rights for everyone, he donates bags full of his clothes to homeless shelters, he grows his hair out past his shoulders and wears gold glitter boots, he politely asks paparazzi to stop following him, he's the guy who doesn't let go first in hugs, he's got such a soft spot for his mother and sister, the list could go on and on. He has taught me, through him just being himself, that it costs nothing to be nice, and it's okay to be happy with who you are.
Another idol of mine, not so surprisingly, is Zayn Malik. He influenced me prior to his choice to leave One Direction, by being unique with his style, not being afraid to test his talents, and not caring what people thought of him. He was always my favorite in the group. Believe it or not, when he left the band, that taught me something as well, which he carefully executed in a tweet he sent years before, "No one's feelings are more important than your own, so take time to love yourself." When he left, it took a little while, but I realized that once again, One Direction is teaching me that even when the world is against me, I can't keep doing something my heart is telling me to quit. I have to make decisions for myself, put my well-being first, because my personal health should come second to none on my priority list. They taught me to take care of myself and not to lie to myself about who I am.
Obviously I care to an extent that they don't know my name. But I know that they still love their fans, and I'm one of those fans, so I know that they appreciate me. But why does anyone else care that they don't know who I am? Why do people still ask me, "Why do you like One Direction? They'll never know you." 'Why do you still breathe, if you're just gonna die?' I feel like responding. I am drawn to those boys because I love them as people. They make me smile, just by watching them be themselves, and along the way, they showed me how to be the true to who I am and embrace myself.
So do I agree with the quote in the prompt? Absolutely not. People are free to idolize who they want, it shouldn't matter to anyone else why you think Taylor Swift is an amazing feminist icon or why Stephen Hawking inspires you. So idolize who you want to idolize, even if they don't know your name. It's okay. If you're lucky, you could meet that person, and then they would know who you are and your story. If not, there's no shame in loving someone who's a little more than average.